Episode One: Second Time 'Round [Mod]

Eighteen year old Gareth immediately felt the feeling of déjà vu wash over him as he stood in the small town of Littleroot.  The dark haired, silver eyed, young man frowned and shoved both of his hands into the pockets at the front of his hooded jacket.  He could feel the memories pressing into his mind of a time four years ago when he had arrived here and had gotten his first pokémon from Professor Birch.

A lot could happen within four years and he was certain that the Professor here had seen a lot of trainers since.  He most likely wouldn't remember him and he certainly wouldn't recognize him.  He had gone through puberty and shot up like a tree in height.  Gareth Wise was now officially eighteen years old and, as such, he was also an adult and fully capable to choose his own path in life from here on out.

The first step in his new life was this: journeying through Hoenn as a pokémon trainer.  Gareth kept his hands in his pockets as he slunk forward and into the Pokémon Laboratory wondering how his journey would play out this time when he had much more control over his life.

The laboratory was incredibly busy this late morning as Gareth stepped inside and was immediately greeted with men and women working, analyzing and recording information.  The day that he had stepped foot into Professor Birch's laboratory some four years ago had been much different.  It had been a slow day compared to what was going on before him today.

Gareth's gaze casually roamed toward the area within the lab where he had been given his pokémon before and he was certain that the same three species would be presented to him here today once again.  Out of the three Gareth had chosen the fire-chick Torchic.

What would be his choice today?  What would the personalities of these pokémon be?  Gareth sighed, heavily, through his nose and brought his attention back to the Professor as he came to greet him.

"Hello, Professor," Gareth returned and offered his hand in a customary handshake of greeting.  "Name's Gareth.  I'm here to register a starter and start another journey."

Gareth realized too late that he had said too much and more than he had wanted.  It was convenient (mostly for him) that the Professor didn't recognize him and so the eighteen year old didn't even bat an eyelash as he lied straight through his teeth:

"Figuratively speaking, Professor," He corrected the older man and pushed his hands back into the pocket of his jacket front.  "Now that I've turned eighteen I can finally set out on the journey that I've always wanted to set out on.  I won't be held back by the people who raised me."

Gareth was a bit surprised though he masked it well as his silver gaze lowered to the red and white pokéball being held out to him.  Four years ago when he had visited this very town and this very Professor he had been given a selection of three starters.

Although, admittedly, Gareth was not all that well versed in the world of starter towns, their regimens, and the day-to-day experiences of brand new trainers starting out for their first times.  Still, he had expected a bit of repitition in all honesty and the same speech he had received prior (although he had long forgotten it) and the impressive selection of a Torchic, Treeko, and Mudkip.

Slowly Gareth extended his hand and arched a brow in a bit of a questioning manner.  But, nonetheless, he accepted the pokéball and the Mudkip as his starter.  He wasn't impressed and he might even go so far to say that he was disappointed.  He had certainly expected more and now he couldn't quite push down the feeling of being served seconds.

"Not gonna lie, Professor," He told the older man as he held the pokéball within his grasp while he looked at it and then finally brought his attention back to Birch.  "I'm a bit disappointed.  I was expecting more of an introduction into the world of Pokémon training."

Being ungrateful?  Pft, maybe, but he was used to being served seconds and being disrespected so he didn't have the best attitude when it came to prejudices.  Even ones he was assuming without very much proof.

Gareth was stubborn and he was quick to judge and, as such, he had already judged Professor Birch and not in the greatest light.  Despite him lacking a lot of evidence and only being in the professor's presence for little less than five minutes—that was more than enough for the hard headed bull to decide that he didn't like the man.  At least this time around.  From what he could remember things had gone fine four years ago.  But maybe that was simply because he had been 14 and so the general public had put on 'happier' faces for him.

Even though he was eighteen and highly esteemed himself as an adult the truth was simply that Gareth Wise was still very much an immature brat.  Although you'd never hear such a thing from the guy.  He felt he was every much as mature as the thirty-something year old man standing before him.

"Admittedly, I am a bit impatient," Gareth returned as he accepted the Pokédex and the empty, unused, pokéballs.  "I'm excited," He corrected quickly as he packed everything into his side bag.  "I think I have the ropes, Professor, seeing as I've—ah... seen a lot of the world of Hoenn and all."

He grinned but felt his heart racing as he almost slipped again.  Imbecile.  Learn how to lie better.

"I've even hung out with trainers and all.  I know how the world goes 'round, and all that jazz.  Okay, well anyway, I'll be seeing you around." Gareth blabbered on, officially wanting to get out as fast as possible before he was potentially hand-cuffed and hauled away without his pokémon.

Professor Birch made no attempt to call out to Gareth or stop him from his departure.  And the moment that Birch offered no rejection to Gareth's idea of leaving—the eighteen year old headed straight for the front doors of the laboratory.  And he didn't stop until he was outside and even quite a few paces further into the town.

His heart was beating a little quickly and he found himself glancing back over his shoulder, half expecting to see good ol' Birch jogging down the street after him and asking for more information on his 'story'.

Damn, it's not like I'm doing anything illegal, Gareth thought and let out an exaggerated sigh before he flopped down, ungracefully, onto a conveniently placed bench within Littleroot.

"There's nothin' wrong with going on a journey after failing the first time," He muttered to himself as he placed one of his hands over his face and took a moment to rest.

[End of Thread~]

(( ooc: Thank you, Nishwishes, for replying to the thread and doing it so speedily too. c:  I had fun with Gareth & Professor Birch's interactions.  I'll start a brand new thread soon with Gareth meeting Mudkip, training, and possibly catching new pokémon. ))